The Paul Revere Chapter NSDAR was formed on April 19, 1894, by a group of sixteen women from Boston and environs. The name of Paul Revere was suggested and unanimously approved in honor of the day, the first Patriots’ Day to commemorate Paul Revere’s ride, and Massachusetts’ participation in the Revolutionary War.
Mrs. James Weld Cartwright of Brookline was elected as the first regent. The Paul Revere Chapter NSDAR was the third chapter formed in the state and is currently the second oldest in Massachusetts. According to the first yearbook, membership was limited to 100 women over the age of eighteen who were “descended from an ancestor who aided in establishing American independence.”
Mrs. James Weld Cartwright of Brookline was elected as the first regent. The Paul Revere Chapter NSDAR was the third chapter formed in the state and is currently the second oldest in Massachusetts. According to the first yearbook, membership was limited to 100 women over the age of eighteen who were “descended from an ancestor who aided in establishing American independence.”
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One of our earliest members, Hannah Higgins Bacon, was the daughter of Captain Eleazer Higgins who fought in the Revolutionary War. Hannah is our Chapter’s “Real Daughter.” She died in 1899 at the age of 90 and is buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in the Bacon family plot. By 1932, the list of the chapter’s distinguished members also included six descendants of Paul Revere himself. Those descendants dwindled to three by 2004, and in 2007 our chapter lost Mary Kittredge Minot at age 90. In 2018, we were excited to gain another great granddaughter of Paul Revere!
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Obituary of Paul Revere Chapter "Real Daughter" Hannah Higgins Bacon is featured in the American Monthly Magazine.
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The plaque the Paul Revere Chapter NSDAR installed on the Paul Revere House in 1895
(from foodtoursboston)
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On April 18, 1895, one year after the chapter was formed and 120 years after Paul Revere set out on his famous ride, the Paul Revere Chapter NSDAR installed a bronze plaque on the facade of the Paul Revere House. The plaque was designed by the chapter and manufactured by the Blake Bell Company - a foundry that traced its origins to Paul Revere’s bell-casting business. The $32 cost of the tablet was shared by the chapter and Sidney F. Squires, the owner of the Paul Revere House from 1891-1902. Almost humorously, but also somewhat sadly, the plaque was positioned between signs advertising the cigar factory and the grocery store which operated out of the building at the time. |
Placement of the plaque was celebrated the following day, April 19, 1895, at the Old North Church in the North End. The church interior was decorated with American flags and crowds of “gaily dressed” women and “intelligent looking” men poured into the church for the ceremony. The Boston Herald reported that more than 1,200 people turned out for the event. Among the speakers that day were representatives of the DAR, the governor’s secretary, and the Reverend Edward A. Horton. This Patriot’s Day Celebration at the Old North Church was continued by the chapter for more than ten years.
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In 1902, Paul Revere’s great-grandson, John Phillips Reynolds, Jr., purchased the building from Squires. Over the next several years, six descendants of Paul Revere who were chapter members, along with descendants of General William Heath, continued to fund repairs to the Paul Revere House. In 1907, the chapter facilitated the forming of the Paul Revere Memorial Association; and in April 1908, the Paul Revere House Museum opened its doors to the public. The Paul Revere Memorial Association then took over as the official guardian of the Revere House. Chapter members became life members and continued to donate money and furniture to the museum.
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Boston Globe Article on the efforts to preserve the Paul Revere House
(from the Paul Revere Memorial Association )
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In the early years, the Paul Revere House was not the only cause for the chapter. Incredible amounts of money were raised and donated to various projects. By 1905, the chapter was responsible for the largest gift to Continental Hall in Washington, D.C.; had established and funded the Signal Lantern Society of the Children of the American Revolution; and had raised funds to promote a wide variety of projects in education and patriotism at local, state, and national levels.
Chapter records become vague during several periods. In 1934, the chapter founded the Seaman’s Friend Library at Mariner’s House at 11 North Square and loaned an oil portrait and bust of Paul Revere to DAR State Headquarters. Over the years 1935 to 1949, the chapter purchased $97,000 in war bonds. Generous gifts were also made to the Special Red Cross Fund, Chelsea Marine Hospital, among others. The book, “Paul Revere and the World He Lived In” was presented to the warship “Massachusetts,” and the U.S. Treasury Department gave recognition to the Chapter for “outstanding war work.”
To furnish the National DAR Museum in Washington, D.C., the chapter gave a flintlock musket, brass handled fire tongs, brass boot-jack, 16 pieces of choice silver, 2 pairs of brilliant buckles, a sampler, two statues and a rare edition of Scott’s “Marmion.” In 1950 The Gold Star was received for generous gifts to the NSDAR Building Fund. Special donations were also made to the Paul Revere Silver Fund and to Plymouth Plantation. In addition to annual donations to the Old North Church, funds were raised to restore its steeple. In 1954, The Gold Star was received again for Special Achievements and the chapter received a National Award for reporting the greatest number of soldier burial locations for publication in U.S. Senate Documents. Regent of the chapter, Mrs. George C. Houser, was co-sponsor of a bill declaring February “American History Month” in Massachusetts, the first state to have such a statute, enabling the DAR and Paul Revere Chapter NSDAR to present history awards to outstanding students in Boston Schools.
Chapter records become vague during several periods. In 1934, the chapter founded the Seaman’s Friend Library at Mariner’s House at 11 North Square and loaned an oil portrait and bust of Paul Revere to DAR State Headquarters. Over the years 1935 to 1949, the chapter purchased $97,000 in war bonds. Generous gifts were also made to the Special Red Cross Fund, Chelsea Marine Hospital, among others. The book, “Paul Revere and the World He Lived In” was presented to the warship “Massachusetts,” and the U.S. Treasury Department gave recognition to the Chapter for “outstanding war work.”
To furnish the National DAR Museum in Washington, D.C., the chapter gave a flintlock musket, brass handled fire tongs, brass boot-jack, 16 pieces of choice silver, 2 pairs of brilliant buckles, a sampler, two statues and a rare edition of Scott’s “Marmion.” In 1950 The Gold Star was received for generous gifts to the NSDAR Building Fund. Special donations were also made to the Paul Revere Silver Fund and to Plymouth Plantation. In addition to annual donations to the Old North Church, funds were raised to restore its steeple. In 1954, The Gold Star was received again for Special Achievements and the chapter received a National Award for reporting the greatest number of soldier burial locations for publication in U.S. Senate Documents. Regent of the chapter, Mrs. George C. Houser, was co-sponsor of a bill declaring February “American History Month” in Massachusetts, the first state to have such a statute, enabling the DAR and Paul Revere Chapter NSDAR to present history awards to outstanding students in Boston Schools.
Excerpts from:
- “The D.A.R. Plaque and the Paul Revere House” by Sarah Watkins, published 1995, Revere House Gazette, Boston
- History of the Massachusetts DAR December 1891-1905, published 1905, Boston, Collection of NEHGS, Boston
- History of the Massachusetts DAR, 1932-1959, compiled by Vivian Southerland Lord, 1959, Boston, Collection of NEHGS, Boston. Originally published April 2009, revised, March 2010, 3rd update May 2011
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Updated November 28, 2020